The Fallout From Larry Nassar’s Sexual Abuse Is Just Beginning

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The Fallout From Larry Nassar’s Sexual Abuse Is Just Beginning

Courtesy of CNN.

(CNN) — When dusk fell Friday (Jan. 26) on Michigan State University, some students gathered to keep the light shining on Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse of scores of girls and young women — and the school’s role in it.

Students rallied and marched in support of the survivors of sex abuse. The demonstration came two days after a judge sentenced Nassar, the former Michigan State sports and USA Gymnastics physician, to up to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing patients under the guise of medical treatment.

Nassar may effectively be condemned to life in prison, but the heat on institutions associated with him is nowhere near finished. On Saturday (Jan. 27), Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said a special prosecutor will investigate “every corner” of Michigan State to determine school officials’ culpability.

“We’re not going to heal all the way until we know exactly who knew what, when and how they’re going to fix it,” former Michigan State gymnast Lindsey Lemke, one of 156 accusers who confronted Nassar in court over his abuse of two decades, said after his sentencing Wednesday.

The fallout from the scandal may span years, involving investigations, civil lawsuits and an overhaul of at least one sports governing body. Here’s what’s happening:

Lawsuits

Michigan State and USA Gymnastics are among the defendants in a number of civil lawsuits by more than 100 accusers.

USA Gymnastics, which selects and trains US teams competing for Olympic and world championships in the sport, counted Nassar as part of its medical staff or as national team doctor through four Olympic cycles.

• In one suit, 2012 Olympics medalist McKayla Maroney alleged USA Gymnastics paid her to be quiet about Nassar’s abuse of her, which she said began when she was 13. The US Olympic Committee, Michigan State and Nassar also are named as defendants.

• In another suit, gymnast Larissa Boyce alleges she told then-Michigan State gymnastics coach Kathie Klagesin the late 1990s that Nassar abused her. Boyce recalls Klages telling her that she could not imagine Nassar “doing anything questionable,” then discouraging her from filing a formal complaint, according to the lawsuit.

• Former Michigan State softball player Tiffany Thomas-Lopez says in a lawsuit Nassar abused her in the late 1990s, and that at least three university trainers listened to her accusations but did nothing about them.

USA Gymnastics, the US Olympic Committee and Michigan State have denied wrongdoing, and USA Gymnastics said it reported the sexual abuse allegations to authorities when it learned about the abuse.

Michigan State maintains that no official there believed Nassar committed sexual abuse until newspapers began reporting on the allegations in the summer of 2016. Any suggestion that the university engaged in a coverup is “simply false,” a school statement asserted last week.

Klages’ attorney, Steve F. Stapleton, told CNN his firm is representing the former coach in federal civil litigation surrounding Nassar and will not comment on pending litigation.

Michigan attorney general names special prosecutor

A number of investigations also have been announced — with Michigan State as one of the targets.

Schuette, the state attorney general, said Saturday that a special prosecutor will investigate the school “from the president’s office down.”

“No individual and no department at Michigan State University is off-limits,” Schuette said.

What will the investigation look for?

The special prosecutor, William Forsyth, said he will determine:

• How Nassar was allowed to abuse patients for nearly 20 years without being stopped.

The university received a Title IX complaint of sexual misconduct against Nassar in 2014, but the investigation concluded that Nassar’s conduct was not of a sexual nature and he was cleared of any Title IX violations, the News reported. Title IX is a federal law that protects people from sexual discrimination in education or other programs receiving federal aid.

Ahead of the review, shakeups have been underway:

• Michigan State President Lou Anna Simon is resigning after outcries that the school’s response wasn’t good enough.

• Michigan State Athletic Director Mark Hollis said Friday he is retiring.

• Michigan State physician Brooke Lemmen resigned last year after she allegedly removed “several boxes of confidential treatment records” from the school at Nassar’s request, and allegedly didn’t tell school officials that Nassar had told her in 2015 that USA Gymnastics was investigating him, the Lansing State Journal reported.

• KathieKlages, the gymnastics coach, retired in 2017.

NCAA investigating Michigan State

The NCAA, too, is looking into Michigan State’s handling of allegations against Nassar.

Other actions involving MSU

• Michigan House Speaker Tom Leonard was asking House attorneys to advise him this week on constitutional avenues to remove Michigan State’s board of trustees, MLive.com reported. The request came not only as general criticism grew over how the university handled the Nassar scandal but also after trustees publicly supported Simon before she resigned.

• The trustees said Friday they were trying to get an “independent third-party” to produce recommendations for improving life at the university. An independent investigator would review “all our processes relating to health and safety, in every area of the university, and … provide recommendations that we will implement to change the culture of MSU,” trustee board Chairman Brian Breslin wrote.

US Olympic Committee wants an investigation …

The US Olympic Committee — itself a focus of victims’ ire — has called for an investigation by an “independent third party to examine how an abuse of this proportion could have gone undetected for so long.”

“We need to know when complaints were brought forward and to who,” USOC Chief Executive Scott Blackmun said in an open letter.

“This investigation will include both USAG (USA Gymnastics) and the USOC, and we believe USAG will cooperate fully. We will make the results public,” Blackmun wrote.

… and more resignations at USA Gymnastics

Three top USA Gymnastics board members resigned earlier this week — a move Blackmun acknowledged but said wasn’t enough. The Indianapolis-based organization has 18 other board positions.

Blackmun said USAG will lose its status as the country’s gymnastics regulator unless the board meets next week’s deadline and an interim board is in place by February 28.

“We do not base these requirements on any knowledge that any individual USAG staff or board members had a role in fostering or obscuring Nassar’s actions,” Blackmun wrote in a letter CNN obtained. “Our position comes from a clear sense that USAG culture needs fundamental rebuilding.”

USA Gymnastics said Friday it would “comply with the USOC requirements.”

Sorting USA Gymnastics’ future

USA Gymnastics already was undergoing an overhaul. The group asked former federal prosecutor Deborah Daniels in late 2016 to review its policies on handling sexual misconduct — and in June she released a report highlighting numerous shortcomings.

USA Gymnastics said it would implement Daniels’ 70 recommendations, including:

• Removing the “athlete representative,” tasked with ensuring the welfare of gymnasts at the training center, from the Olympic selection committee so athletes can feel more comfortable reporting abuse to him or her

USA Gymnastics needs to sort other parts of its immediate future, too.

It was once scheduled to hold a training camp this week at the Karolyi Ranch in Texas. The ranch had been the official US Women’s National Team Training Center since 2001.

But USA Gymnastics cut ties with the ranch last week after several gymnasts said Nassar abused them there. The organization is exploring alternative sites to host camps until it finds a permanent location.

USA Gymnastics also is under financial pressure. AT&T said this week it is suspending its sponsorship of the organization “until it is rebuilt and we know that the athletes are in a safe environment.”